It's taken half the year for him to get up to speed, but former Demon Colin Sylvia finally has the chance to become a vital cog in the Dockers' premiership push.
Sylvia will make his long-awaited Dockers debut in Saturday's AFL clash with Richmond at the MCG.
The 28-year-old arrived at Fremantle with much fanfare on a three-year deal last October, but reality hit soon after as he struggled to adapt to the club's unrelenting work ethic under coach Ross Lyon.
Sylvia has hardly set the WAFL alight this year.
In his seven appearances for Peel Thunder, Sylvia has averaged 17 possessions and a goal per game.
But importantly, Sylvia's work ethic on the training track and in games has improved, and he's even taken the Ross Lyon lingo on board.
"(I want to) just play my role and work on my defensive side of the game. Just really give a lot of effort," Sylvia told the Fremantle website.
"I'm really looking forward to getting out there. It's a great opportunity for me.
"I'm very honoured."
Key defender Alex Silvagni returns to the side to help fill the void left by injured backmen Luke McPharlin (knee) and Michael Johnson (knee), but Lyon resisted the urge to recall wingman Anthony Morabito.
Richmond recalled Chris Newman, Aaron Edwards, Shaun Hampson and Dylan Grimes, but Matt Thomas and Ty Vickery couldn't be considered due to suspension.
The Tigers' finals hopes appear over after coughing up a 36-point lead on the way to a 28-point loss to North Melbourne last week.
Although Richmond (3-8) need a miracle to get back into the finals mix, coach Damien Hardwick is refusing to wave the white flag.
Fremantle are banging on the door of the top-four following three straight wins, but Lyon says his team can't afford to take the struggling Tigers lightly.
"We've seen them at their best and they're really challenging," Lyon said. "The competition is so even. North are 7-4, and Richmond were up on them by six goals.
"Richmond represent a significant challenge and opposition.
"We need to improve because we're in the middle of the pack and the only way to get to where we want to go is to improve our football."
Showers are forecast for Saturday's match - not that Lyon minds.
"We're not a big team. We're not super tall," Lyon said.
"We're a really athletic, mobile, hard-running team. We can really run and work, and we play really well in the wet.
"That's my view and that's our players' belief."
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